FENCING

Fencing is the modern duel of our time. However opponents do not try to kill each other, instead they hit each other with their swords and gain points. Fencing is a very old tradition in many cultures. Its origins are Italy and France and today most fencing teams are from those counteries. There are three catagories in fencing. The Foil, the Epee, and the Sabre. Most things are commen in this catagories but there are slight changes. Fencing consist of two athletes trying to hit each other in target areas. The target area of each three category are different. What is common between this categories is equipments that athletes use and the fencing piste. In three of the fencing catagories athletes wear some protective gear such as jacket, plastron which is worn inside the jacket for extra protection, breeches, gloves and metal helmet. In foil category athletes must hit his opponents upper body excluding head, legs and arms. Foil is a light and flexible small one-handed sword. Competitors have buttons on the sword and conductive jacket on their target area. In order to score each have to apply a 500 g force with the tip of the swort to the target area. If a fencer attacks and hits, he has priority but if his attact is deflected and got hit his oppoonent gains priority. Epee category was found in 19th century by French students who thought foil was too restrictive and who seeked a closer experience to a duel. Thus in epee category target area is the entire body. Fencers do not wear a conductive wear and there is no time limiting consecutives attacks. Both gain points if they hit each other in 40 milliseconds. 750 g force must be applied to gain point. Epee category provides fencers more freedom than foil. Feet movements and physical contacts are more acceptable. Sabre is more realiscit sword than other two categories. Some claims that it was descended from Turkic cavalary sabres. Sabre is a cuting weapon, so fencers can gain point with the edge of their sabres. The target area is

upper body including arms, and head but not hands. Any contact with the anywhere of the sabre to target area result in score. Because it is hard to deflect sabra attacks it is illegal to cross feet. Fencers meet on a narrow raised platform called piste. It is 1.5 to 2 meter in width and, 14 meter in length. There are there is one center and three side lines on the piste. Center line indicate the middle, Competitors start on on guard line, warning line indicates the closeness to the end line, and fencers are penalized if they cross the rear line. Fencers wear masks, jackets, breeches and gloves as protective gear. In fencing there is a rule called right of way. It is a guideline that describes how should a fencer reacts to his attacking opponent. For instance, the opponent had to make a "parry"(an action where fencer uses his sword to block his opponent), if successful, causes the attacking fencer to lose ROW. A successful parry also earns the opponent the opportunity to subsequently claim ROW by immediately initiating a "riposte" (an attack after a parry). If his opponent makes the immediate riposte, and the original attacker makes an immediate continuation their original attack (called a "remise"), and both strike one another, only the riposte counts (even if the remise can be seen to land first and, in foil, even if the riposte lands outside of the valid target area). If, instead of parrying, the opponent launches a counter attack and both strike one another, only the initial attack counts. The connection between fencing and the novel Catcher in the rye is that the main character of the book Catcher in the Rye Holden is the captain of the fencing team. We are informed about this in the very beginning of the book. Also we learn that he loses the team equipment in subway. As Holden talks about himself we learn that he is tall and athletic which is a ideal physics of a fencer. But he is not paying enough attention or giving enough effort to fencing. A fencer must be fit. Fencing requires speed, both physicly and mentally. Most important thing in fencing is responses. A fencer with fast responses may deflect his

opponents attack and attack to score. A fencer must have eye-hand coondination and must keep his body balance all the time. All the information above is technical data, in order to have enough knowlage about fencing, we must talk to someone who plays it. Lotus Tzn is a very succesful athlete in sabre category. She answer the question how and why did she choose fencing? I had an intentention to start doing a sport and I was introduced to fencing. It grabbed my attention and I had fun while playing it.. Also she says I like fencing because I decharge while I practice and since I got better at it I felt more connected to it and I started to like it even more. She said that the hardship of fencing is that you allways have to use your mind and your body together. She defined it as the chess of sports. You always have to think your second move and be quick to decide. What she recommends to the potential fencers that thay should practice much and never give up when they are defieted. Because we all learn from our mistakes and they make us better. Doing a sport is allways a good thing. You do not have to play popular sports like football or basketball etc. the important thing is everybody should find a sport that they enjoy and that they are good at it. It is a fact that doing sports increase job or school performance. It differs from person to person but I recommend those who are interested in sports especially combat sports, they must try fencing. It is a traditional sport and it improves responses, body coordination and muscles. It is a sport that will keep you fit both physicly and mentally.

Bib.

"Fencing." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencing>. Mebourne, Delh. "Fencing." The Sports Book: The Sports. The Rules. The Tactics. The Techniques. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2007. 206-07. Print. Hammond, Tim, and Dave King. "Fencing." Sports. New York, NY.: Dorling Kindersley Pub., 2000. 50-51. Print. "Mental Training | Fencing.Net." Fencing.Net - Your Guide to Olympic Fencing | Fencing Equipment | Training and More. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://www.fencing.net/training/psychology/>. Tzn, Lotus. "Fencing." Tarabya, Istanbul. 19 Mar. 2011.